Aug. 30, 2012

MEMPHIS, Tenn.. - Following an off weekend, No. 21 Memphis (0-1-0) returns to action as Arkansas State (2-1-0) and No. 3 Oklahoma State (4-0-0) visit Mike Rose Soccer Complex this weekend. Kickoff against the Red Wolves is set for 7 p.m. on Friday and the Lady Tigers battle Oklahoma State on Sunday at 7 p.m. 

Penalty Kicks
• Memphis looks to rebound from the season-opening 5-1 loss at Missouri with the home opener on Friday against Arkansas State.
• The Lady Tigers have won five-straight home openers and carry a 12-4-1 record all-time in the opener on the home pitch.
• The U of M carries a 14-1-1 record since 2007 following a loss. Friday’s game is the first time Memphis can improve that record since Sept. 26, 2010.
• With five upperclassmen (juniors/seniors) on the 2012 roster, Memphis is the second-youngest team in NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer.
• Memphis is one of 14 teams in NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer with all goalkeepers being freshmen, redshirt and/or true-freshmen.
• Head Coach Brooks Monaghan is in his 13th season at the helm of the University of Memphis women’s soccer program. He stands three wins shy of 150 for his career.

Scouting ASU
This season marks the 13th in program history for ASU and is the third season for head coach Tafadzwa Ziyenge as the head coach at ASU. In 2011 the Red Wolves finished 7-10-3 and advanced to the Sun Belt Conference Tournament for the first time since 2009.

Arkansas State returns nine starters and 10 letterwinners from the 2011 team. ASU opened the season with a 3-0 loss at Indiana, but followed it up with a 6-0 win over UAPB. Last weekend, Arkansas State scored an 86th minute goal to come away with a 1-0 win at Murray State.

Jenna Kelley leads the Red Wolves with six points in three games as she has tallied two goals and two assists. Christina Giles has a goal and two assists for four points.

Inside the Series
Arkansas State and Memphis have never played a regular season non-conference match.

Scouting OSU
The Cowgirls are coming off the best season in their program history after going 22-2-2 a year ago, advancing to the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight for the second-straight year and winning a fourth consecutive Big 12 Conference championship.

OSU returns six starters from last season, led by a senior trio that includes All-American AD Franch and All-Big 12 performers Carson Michalowski and Megan Marchesano. OSU opened the season with a pair of 1-0 victories, against UMKC and Weber State. The Cowgirls improved to 4-0 on the season with a 3-1 win over Vanderbilt and a 4-1 win over Creighton.

Megan Marchesano and Madison Mercado have each posted two goals thus far for the Cowgirls and OSU has out-shot their opponents 85-32 to date.

The Cowgirls play at UAB on Friday before traveling to the Bluff City for Sunday’s match.

Inside the Series
Oklahoma State and Memphis have played one match, a 2-1 victory for the Cowgirls in Stillwater, Okla.

Home Opener
Memphis carries a 12-4-1 record in home openers and has won five-straight matches in the first game at home each season. The Lady Tigers have outscored the opposition 19-2 in the five-game streak and posted three clean sheets.

When We Were Young
Memphis is tied with three other schools as the second-youngest squad in all of NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer. Morehead State and Virginia Military Institute are statistically the youngest teams with four upperclassmen on their rosters. Memphis is tied with Washington State and Francis Marion for the second-fewest upperclassmen with five.

Don’t Forget About Us
Although there are only five upperclassmen on the roster, Memphis sports a squad with a talented group of experienced sophomores. Nine of the ten sophomores on the roster saw action last year, with the exception being Alena Strandova. Of the nine, they combined for 138 games of experience and 80 starts.

FIFA U20 World Cup
Three Memphis players missed the opening game of the season due to the FIFA U20 World Cup in Japan. Christabel Oduro and Kylie Davis represent Canada and Natalia Gomez-Junco plays for Mexico. Canada went 1-2 in group play with a 6-0 win over Argentina but a 2-1 loss to North Korea eliminated Canada from the tournament. Mexico advanced to the quarterfinals with a 4-0 win over New Zealand. Gomez-Junco scored a goal in the win over New Zealand. Mexico plays Nigeria on Thursday in the quarterfinal matchup.

What's back?
Memphis may be the second-youngest team in NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer, but statistically speaking, Memphis has more than half its offensive production back from a season ago.

August Rush
As the summer winds to a close, the U of M may be sad to see the calendar flip past August. In 16 seasons, Memphis is 19-6-1 all-time in the month of August and is unbeaten in 17 of the last 18 matches, dating back to the 2003 season.

Remember September
Memphis carries a 65-64-9 in the month of September, but over the last five seasons, the Lady Tigers have a 26-11 record. Last season, Memphis was 7-0 with five shutouts in September.

Home Field Advantage
Since 2004, Memphis is 57-17-5 at Mike Rose Soccer Complex. Under head coach Brooks Monaghan, Memphis has a 77-32-7 mark on the home turf. Year-by-year win-loss at home under Coach Monaghan is below:

Bounce Back
Memphis carries an impressive 33-15-3 record following a loss, dating back to 2002. Looking more closely, the Lady Tigers are 14-1-1 following a loss since the 2007 season. Friday’s game will be the first match since September 26, 2010 that the Lady Tigers look to rebound from a regular season loss.

The Lady Tigers are 12-12-2 following a loss in which they lose by four or more goals in program history. Friday’s game will be the first in this scenario since the 2011 season opener, following the 5-0 NCAA Tournament loss to Oregon State. In the game following a loss of three or more goals, Memphis is 19-19-3 all-time.

Nice To Meet You
Memphis and Arkansas State meet on the pitch for the first time on Friday. In Memphis’ 17-year program history, the Lady Tigers carry a 28-38-3 record in first-time meetings. Under coach Brooks Monaghan, Memphis’ record is 13-18-2 in those meetings.

Defense Wins Championships
Since the 2007 season, the Lady Tiger defense has helped the U of M to an 81-4-5 record when opponents score one or fewer goals. In that same span, Memphis has 59 shutouts.

Three Is The Magic Number
When scoring three or more goals in a match, the U of M carries an 87-6-2 record all-time. Under Head Coach Brooks Monaghan, Memphis is 66-3-2. In the past four seasons in which Memphis has five-straight championships, the record when scoring three or more goals is 32-0-2.

Coach Brooks Monaghan
Since taking over the program in 2000, head coach Brooks Monaghan has compiled a record of 147-87-15 in 13 seasons. Monaghan has helped the program claim eight, 11-plus win seasons during his tenure. Below is a look at the milestone victories for Coach Monaghan.

Clean Sheet
In Memphis’ five-straight conference championship run, the Lady Tigers have posted shutouts in 58 of 114 matches, 51 percent of the contests. Just in the last two seasons, Memphis has recorded 27 shutouts in 47 matches, 57 percent of the contests.

Canadian connection
Memphis continues to have a strong presence of Canadians on the roster as eight Canadians are on the 2012 roster. Since current assistant coach Jodi Grant first donned the Blue and Gray when the program started in 1995, there has been at least one Canadian every season. Also, there has been six or more Canadians on the roster since the 2008 season, with a program-high eight this season.

International Flair
Coupled with eight Canadians, Memphis has some international flair on the roster. The Lady Tigers have players from Belgium (Tine Schryvers), England (Lucy Cunningham) and Mexico (Natalia Gomez-Junco).

Up Next
Memphis travels to Nashville for a Thursday matchup against Vanderbilt. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.